Where a dad of two great kids (one on the autism spectrum) muses about life.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Is It Spring Already?

Perhaps it is just cosmic Karma, that if things go well for a period of time, that some negative balance has to happen. Perhaps it's because the weather's been warmer the last couple of days. Perhaps there is absolutely no reason at all, but today Buddy Boy had a major meltdown at school (actually two incidents).

In the morning he got upset about something relatively minor, went to his spot in the class to calm down, then got more upset and was sent to the principal's office, where he calmed down after an hour or so. After lunch and recess, he got upset in math class, jumped on a chair and then a desk, bit himself really hard (he says he didn't want to be agressive against anyone else), then when he was being taken for a walk in the hall started head butting the brick wall. When another teacher started to intervene to try and prevent him from hurting himself, he head butted her. Liz was called and picked him up.

He seemed fairly normal for the rest of the afternoon, completing much of the work he missed by being taken out of school, and expressing remorse over his actions.

Last year Buddy Boy had a bad Spring, which started getting really bad in April, and continued thru May. Like last year, we got lulled into a false sense of security, as everything has been going fairly well for all of us. Now Liz has catapulted herself to Defcon 2, and seemed to be having a flashback from last year when I got home. She was poring over last year's calendar (where she wrote all of last year's problems, observations, med changes, etc.) looking for some inspiration or answer to get us thru this. She found nothing. We wonder out loud if the fact that his class size has gone from 18 at the start of the year to 23 now has changed the dynamic sufficiently to cause such a change. We've had people come in to observe before when Buddy Boy's had problems (the school will let outside "professionals" in to observe, but not parents), but it's hard for someone that doesn't know Buddy Boy's baseline to get a handle on what's happening in a few short hours.

Tomorrow is another day, and I just hope that somehow we can get thru that one, and then another.

10 comments:

I came here to catch up on Pikachu---hug to Buddy Boy first, and Liz and you and Sweet Pea.

Charlie is (hopefully, where is some wood to knock) getting out of a wrenching tough tough tough period in which everything Buddy Boy did in the hallways has been happening far too frequently. We had an emergency IEP meeting the Friday before last and have been at least at Defcon 2 since Christmas vacation, when Charlie dissolved (sorry for the language) at my parents' house.

We were allowed to observe at school; Charlie's teacher also comes to our house.

Indeed, I've found the changes of weather, temperature, humidity to definitely affect Charlie, as well as things like teeth on the verge of falling out, and being in a growth spurt. And sometimes, nothing anyone can figure out at all.

Thinking of Buddy Boy today and tomorrow and this week, as much as Jim and I have felt that we've been in the school corridors with Charlie in this already rather tough year.

hugs to all of you. If I may, a lot of parents tell me that their kids start having difficulties as the weather warms up and sometimes this can be related to allergies or mold. I don't know if these are an issue for Buddy Boy. It's often a long painful detective process to figure this stuff out. Wishing you all the best.

My eldest is foul as well these last few days but the weather is going up and down like a yo-yo with rain. For some reason, snow storms don't have the same impact on the wiring in the brain.

Little boy has been off, but not miserable.

I find when things get to big for the little one (7 - severe, non-verbal PDD) to handle, a half dose of motrin seems to calm the frayed nerve endings in his brain. I gave him some last night before bed and he slept peacefully all night after a lot of bouncing and stimming and not sleeping the night before. Since I'd had a weather induced headache all day, I suspected he did too.

Been a while since the eldest (9 -NLD) has been this miserable... I too hope it ends soon b/c I'm tired of the pissing matches.

bubab 'cycles' as do I, and weather has a lot to do with it...we were both full of agitationa nd anxiety but could not explain it...it was physiological. Spring is always bad for us, when fronts come in my husband's knees hurt, I get migranes, and Bubba...well Bubba seems overwhelmed by everything. One thing that seems to be obvious at schools...they can't handle inconsistent performance....I think staff has difficulty adjusting and giving the flexibility needed. I think sometimes it becomes about compliance... this is where we really struggle. Bubba does really well for sometime and then he can't do it that day for whatever reason, and he is antagonized, pushed beyond what he is capable. hen he tries to take it out on himself because he knows he can't touch those people, and then they touch him to intervene (or don't stop talking) and it pushes him just far enough. In your son's case, maybe a sensory option would've helped...he may have calmed down but not gotten rid of what was buildign inside, so it wasn't too much to trigger it all again... If he could've been inthe senosry room with an OT guiding him to throwing heavy bean bags, or wall push ups, or whatever works for him...that may have provided the release he needed? I'm rattling...sorry.

Spring is also hard on Joey. The change in weather and light definitely makes for changes in Joey's ability to process and his frustration tolerance. I just met with his teacher today, and this was one of the things we were talking about- trying to ramp up the supports for Joey to get him through the sensory issues and frustrations of spring (in fact, she has traced all his spring behavior issues to sensory issues!)

Hugs to you and Liz -- and Buddy Boy, too. Amigo had a major meltdown over a math assignment a few days ago. I should say the math assignment was the straw that broke him; there are always other precipitating factors. You're wise to continue looking beneath the surface.

Whose who in this family?

Me- Joe, husband of a great wife, and dad to two great kids, who were both adopted at birth.
Liz- My ever understanding wife, who manages to wear many hats (mom, advocate, therapist, teacher) for our kids.
Buddy Boy- Born in 2000. Funny, intelligent, inventive, and autistic. Loves machines.
Sweet Pea- Born in 2002. Typical little sister. Competitive, outgoing, and smart. Loves anything pink.